Noni Madueke showed at Villa Park he can be a big player and leader for Chelsea
Madueke led the Chelsea fightback through performance and personality to suggest he can be a leader of this young and inexperienced squad
There have been several occasions this season when Chelsea have justified Gary Neville’s now infamous “billion-pound bottle jobs” tag.
There was the League Cup final – when Neville uttered those words – against a depleted Liverpool side half made up of youth-team players; the successive 2-2 draws from winning positions against Sheffield United and Burnley; the 5-0 horror show at the Emirates Stadium; perhaps even the FA Cup semi-final when the Blues had Manchester City on the ropes but couldn’t find a way to win.
The accusation is that this young and inexperienced squad lack leaders – an inevitable consequence of a transfer policy entirely focused on signing players under the age of 25.
Yet, an unexpected leader appears to be emerging.
Noni Madueke has not been in the fans’ good books in recent weeks. His immaturity when trying to displace Cole Palmer from penalty duties against Everton was not a good look.
He then caused widespread outrage among supporters for laughing and joking with Jack Grealish after the FA Cup semi-final defeat, the optics made even worse by the sight of Thiago Silva in tears right in front of him.
Such was the fury from the fans, many were even calling on social media for the winger to be sold this summer amid claims Madueke does not care about the club.
The collective catastrophe against Arsenal and the first half at Aston Villa on Saturday did little for anyone’s reputation. But as they emerged for the second half at Villa Park, there was one player above all others who led the fightback – both through performance and personality.
Madueke refused to stop running at full-back Lucas Digne, utterly destroying the Frenchman in their duel to send the jitters through the Villa defence. The winger’s devastating display got its reward in the 65th minute with a brilliantly taken goal.
That only motivated him further. He continued to dominate the right flank and created the move that led to Conor Gallgher’s sublime equaliser.
By the end of the game – a game Chelsea would have won were it not for a soft VAR call – Madueke had scored a goal, assisted the other, completed 6/8 dribbles, had seven touches in the Villa box, and completed 88% of his passes.
Beyond his attacking contribution, just as telling was his defensive work. Madueke won a massive 12 individual duels and lost just four (10/14 on the ground, 2/2 in the air), and completed five defensive recoveries and an interception.
After showing superb character to lead Chelsea to a draw, Madueke wasn’t done there. The 22-year-old was then seen intensely arguing with referee Craig Pawson at full-time after his decision not to let Axel Disasi’s late goal stand. He was shown a yellow card for his efforts.
Of course, the booking was needless but at least it showed a player who does indeed care; a player committed to trying to help Chelsea win football matches.
“We wanted to come here and win, that was our goal. It wasn’t to be but nevertheless I’m still proud of the boys, it was a good performance,” Madueke said post-match. “We do need to play better at times in phases of the game. However, we have an abundance of quality and when we fight, we’re a match for any team on our day.”
It wasn’t the first time this season Madueke had shouldered responsibility when Chelsea most needed a leader. He came off the bench with 10 minutes to go against Crystal Palace in December, duly won a penalty in the dying stages, and stepped up to score the winner.
Madueke then made a similarly important impact during the remarkable 4-3 win over Manchester United, drawing the foul from Diogo Dalot that led to Cole Palmer’s equalising penalty.
On those occasions, and indeed for much of the season, Madueke was used as an impact sub, but his star performance at Villa was his fifth successive start – his best run in the team since arriving last January from PSV Eindhoven.
Injuries to teammates have helped create more opportunities for Madueke but he is clearly starting to earn the trust of Mauricio Pochettino. Nine goal involvements (seven scored, two assisted) in 29 appearances – a goal involvement every four games – is a decent return for a first full season, particularly for a player primarily used as a substitute.
Next up is another massive derby against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. If Madueke can carry his Villa Park form into the game, he will have another important role to play while continuing to cement his new-found status as a leader and key player.
